The monsoon continues

Heavy rains were forecasted for several hours in the afternoon. Rain clouds shrouded the mountains at sunrise.

 I took advantage of the late morning when there were a few dry hours between showers and took Hansel and Fritz to the Lehner kill site area to walk the loop. This is mostly a level walk around grassland next to the river. 

The boys had a short fight in the backyard just before we left. Hansel tried to continue the disagreement so I made sure to walk both dogs hard. I'm getting tired of the cuts and tears the dogs give each other. They fight over food and alphadomThe rains are making the grasses and weeds grow tall. Some are already three feet tall. This makes looking at the ground at times difficult. Gone are the fields of sunflowers that would grow here before that April 2021 fire. I walked on the birding trail briefly to let the dogs to the water. It was flowing swiftly again after yesterday's rain. Both dog dip into the water and stay along the banks, avoiding the muddy current.r I continued south on the official trail to the old Case de San Pedro. The trail past the parking lot was heavily saturated and was thus not mowed, but I continued on, making a loop around the field and then returning to the Honda. It was an easy three miles. The rain has brought out the butterflies. i Hereford bridge is again closed due to flooding. I walked on it with the dogs on my way home. Right now the river is easily four times its normal width here. The rest of the day was uneventful. Rain returned mid afternoon, the dogs stayed inside, and I enjoyed watching the doves feed off seed I placed in a bowl near the front window. I wonder how many of the doves are young birds from this year's clutches? They look small and several have white edges along their wings.

Heavy rains again locally and in NWI

Monday night and Tuesday more rain came again and I was ready. I had bought food Monday morning and dogs had their raw chicken treat. While I prefer daytime storms so that I can see the sky better, I will take any moisture. 

 Northwest Indiana (NWI) also had strong storms. The wide paths of wind and rain are known as derechos and one hit my daughter's neighborhood Tuesday night. There was storm damage in Portage and Valparaiso, IN, with one death caused by a gas explosion in Chesterton. Erin and her boys were fine, but the photos were all over the weather channels the next day. NWI is former swamp land, so when it rains, the ground tends to flood easily. There is a small swamp pond not to far behind Erin's home. Her own back yard quickly gets saturated after heavy rains. High winds and flooding is the area's biggest menance. Even my former sister-in-law, Teamy H, received heavy rood damage when a mature tree was uprooted on her home. The poor woman had lung surgery in May for stage 3 lung cancer (yes, she had been a heavy smoker all her life) so additional home damage is one thing she and her husband Jeff didn't need. My niece Tracy posted photos on her Facebook page. Erin is always off on Wednesdays so she got to stay home with three restless boys and no power in the home. Power for the local Valparaiso schools is expected to be out for a week. I'm glad Erin and her family escaped damage. This year's weather in NWI has been especially rought, from bitter cold to high winds.

Bisbee's Zacatecas Canyon

 I had this little hike planned since the rains began last week.  Zacatecas Canyon off Brewery Gulch and its retaining walls fills up with water after heavy rains.  Bisbee was hit hard with the storms from last Monday and Wednesday.  Flood waters were running down Brewery Gulch and the street department had to work feverishly all day Thursday to get ready for this weekend's Pirate Festival.

I'm not into pirates.  I just wanted a "wet" hike with Zana.  It was her turn for a private hike and I think she really enjoyed it. Water was running in the streets so I stayed in the Gulch for 0.4 miles before climbing the stairs by the Mimosa Market up to OK Street, from where I started the official trail.  Debris and folded over grass were still visible from the storm waters.  I let Zana off leash from here.

Zana has become a great hiker.  Not once did she take off chasing anything.  She stayed up front and kept looking back at me.  Whenever the trail got hard to follow (thanks to the overgrown Lehman's Lovegrass) she would slow down and get behind me. Catclaw mimosa with its purple-pink bloom straddled the trail. I was focused on finding the first left turn back down into the Gulch.  My Strava app kept me on trail even when it was hard for me to see where I was going.

The trail was much easier to follow and less overgrown when I got to the intersection where I needed to take a left turn.  Zana ran on ahead and then went straight into the reservoir.  It was filled to the dam line and trickling over.  This was the source of all the water in the Gulch.

I let her swim for a bit before continuing my descent.  This is what I came for, afterall.

I never came across another soul while in the canyon.  The water stayed  with us as we walked downhill.  Two campers were by another reservoir but I didn't want to bother them as they were most likely homeless.

Pirate events began at 9am.  By then I was taking a break with Zana at the Allen and Co coffee shop, where I sat on a couch sipping an iced latte.  Zana acted a little nervous around all the people that came in shortly after I did, and joined me on the couch to cuddle.  She can be a real lovebug at times. Several dogs came through, but she didn't bark (although I had to hold her by the collar).

The hike took us 90 minutes for the 3+ miles.  I didn't get an accurate reading because my Strava app kept stopping, but my Samsung Health app says I did close to four miles by the time I got back to the Honda.

I stopped in Tombstone on my way home, trying out the new Iron Horse Cafe (a new biker bar) where again I had an iced latte, then stopped by a new sandwich shop for a roast chicken breast on whole wheat and Swiss cheese.  My final stop was at the Tombstone Brewery for a quick blood orange wheat.  It's my favorite beer of theirs.

By then Zana was exhausted.  The brewery's AC wasn't working and I was the only customer that first hour, nibbling on my sandwich before finally heading back home at 1:30pm. 

Zana has become my favorite urban hiker.  She's good around people and most dogs and doesn't whine in the car.  She seemed genuinely happy to be back with the pack and snoozing on the floor with them in the afternoon.

Tornado warning!

The day began like most days this summer:  I got up after runrise, sipped a cup of coffee, then took Fritz and Hansel at 1030am to the Lehner Kill site parking area for the mile-long walk to the river.   Fritz was due a good walk.  And he was happy to get out.  Skies were clear. 

The river was back to its normal level despite the rain on Monday.  The birding trail that loops off the main trail wasn't too muddy, either, so I walked with the dogs to almost the Casa de San Pedro B&B. I turned around before the sharp turn to the west.  We returned the way we came.

Rain was predicted for later.  Clouds slowly formed from the south as the day progressed. Sunset was colorful and a storm cloud grew off the southern horizon.  I took the dogs out to the backyard for a quick pee before the storm.

I was sitting in my old IKEA chair when my phone buzzed a weather alert: "Tornado warning 7:16pm  until 8pm. A severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado was located near Sierra Vista, moving southwest at 5mph."

This was a warning, not a watch.  In my 22 years in the area, this is the first ever tornado warning. Yes, the rain soon began, but the thunder and lightning is what scared the dogs.  Gretel slinked into the bathroom.  Wolfie stayed by his spot by the front door.  The four others stood close to me awaiting further instruction.

I was a little apprehensive about a tornado warning.  While it was already dusk, the sky didn't have the greenish-black hue I've seen before in Texas and Indiana . Winds were calm, mostly. I even walked in the backyard but then realized I should take the warning seriously.  I stayed calm so as not to stress out the dogs.

Additional alerts were for a severe thunderstorm at 7:37pm through 8:15pm and then flash flooding from 8pm until 11pm.

What I witnessed was a non-stop lightning show over the Huachucas and lingering rain, although nothing severe. Bisbee got hit hard with heavy flooding in Old Bisbee

 

A muggy morning.

 Today's sunrise was muted by grey clouds.  It looked like rain and it did drizzle for a bit, but nothing heavy.  I planted a few seedlings and took  a break at around 9am to admire the mountains.

And then four dogs ran past me, straight to Kim's place.  What the heck?  This is the second time this week that they pushed loose again.

I checked the latch,  It was turned up, but the gate was not entirely open as the collar I use to keep the gate from opening wide was still attached to the gate.  The dogs had squeezed through.  Fritz and Wolfie were still in the back.  They are too big to squeeze through a four-inch opening.

Hansel, Gretel and Zana came back to me within a few minutes.  I put them in the Honda.  Only Gretchen was still on the loose.  She took her sweet time to come back to me.  The other three were patient probably because being in the car means they are going to the river.  I didn't want to disappoint them. 

I don't blame Gretchen for breaking out.  She doesn't get the chance to walk off-leash when I walk her because she has no recall.  She loves to run and she likes being chased, but I don't chase her.  I simply wait for her to come back exhausted, with her tongue hanging out.  But obviously because of her break-out record and my neighbor Kim, I can't take chances with her running loose.

It was 10am when Gretchen came back,  She went inside to drink.  I took the other three to the Big Wash.  She looked like she was ready to chill.

I wanted to check out the Big Wash again.  I've  been taking the dogs to the Lehner Kill site parking area all week because the trail is not as muddy as other trails I use.  It's a short hike of just over two miles.  Today I wanted something more challenging,  It had been five days since our last big rain and the trail to the river would be dry enough to walk without getting stuck in sticky mud.

The dogs had a blast chasing each other.  We went to two miles out and then back. The creosote bushes are in bloom again and the trail is overgrown near the water.

We were back home again by noon.  From there I went into town to get new carabiners for the gate so that I have no more breakouts.

It was muggy all day, but despite the forecast, we never got a severe storm or dust storm that was predicted.  The clouds and storm stayed to our east.

Wolfie's follow-up appointment

Today's 3:45pm appointment with Wolfie was a quick follow-up to see if the carprofen and gabapentin tablets have been helping him heal.  I got to the vet office early to enjoy the AC, but then didn't get seen until 4:15pm.

In short, he is healing but he may forever have a slight limp because of arthritis. His injury is a "partial cranial cruciate ligament injury" or CCL and is common.  He got that after a dog fight in late April   The good news is that he lost four pounds and is down to 101 pounds. I was happy about that.  I'm sure the other dogs also lost some weight because I discontinued the food bucket.  No more grazing.  I would like Wolfie to lose another ten pounds.  Two years ago at the ABC clinic the DVM told me 90 pounds would be ideal weight for a dog Wolfie's size.  Back then he weighed 98 pounds.

No surgery is needed but he has three more weeks of medication.  He's also still on kennel rest.  I'm to slowly get him on walks again, starting with five minutes at a time.  He's probably already getting that much when he walks around the back yard to pee.  I go outside with the dogs around midnight before I go to bed, so that all the dogs get a chance to pee.

He was so mellow with the DVM. He was a bit nervous but let her touch him.  Other dogs make him nervous and I made sure we sat away from other furry patients.  

I went to my old lot to put out the trash once I left the vet office.  Trash pickup is Thursday mornings. Lehman Lovegrass is growing out of control since the rain earlier this week.  That stuff gives me allergies!  Once I finished with pulling weeds, I took Wolfie on a 0.6 mile walk around the block and he did fine. That was a ten minute walk. There are so many weeds growing everywhere and the neighborhood is green.

Students go back to school next Wednesday.  I'm back to part-time work and that's perfect for me as I get to pick my own hours.  I'm easing into retirement for the next six months. I plan on doing some extended weekend get-aways once the weather cools this fall, but I'm done with full-time work.

Flash floods and late night storm

 My morning started as the routine: get up early for grocery shopping as some of the best deals are when the store .opens.  I was out of raw chicken for the dogs..

The weather forecast called for severe storms later in he day, but there were no clouds in the morning.  Instead, the clouds formed gradually and slowly in the late afternoon.  I was back home by the early afternoon, did some gardening, and then chilled.  I like being safely at home with the dogs when it storms.

I spotted one of the doves with one of her chucks huddled on my front porch railings.  It's so sweet to watch them.  I wasn't expecting this last clutch to leave the nest after only ten days as the chicks looked so small. 

The day was otherwise uneventful.  None of the dogs was walked.  I stayed with them in the backyard shortly after sunset.  The clouds along the southern sky were billowing and by 9:30pm it began to rain.  This rain slowly increased in intensity before my phone screeched three times to warn of flash floods in my area

By 10:30pm it was a steady storm with impressive lightning and thunder. This was the first overnight rain and we needed it.  We never lost power

Lehner Kill site trail head

We have been getting good rain every day all week  I have been avoiding my usual trailhead because of the mud. It's too slippery to walk along the river. Today I opted to take Fritz and Gretel to the river via the Lehner kill site parking area. It's a 13 mile drive and about 20 minutes of driving.  Along the way I saw a voting station at the Mountain vista Baptist Church off Moson Road.  I had completely forgotten about the state's primary today!

It was very humid when we got started. I kept my eyes to the ground to avoid stepping on snakes

 It was a quick out and back. The river was swift and muddy but not at record level yet. 

We were back by 11am and soon the storm began. It ended quickly 

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I had a Yelp! event to attend in Tucson that started at 6:30pm.  This was my first event in a year. That was still hours away, but the weather forecast was iffy at best.  Rain in town does not mean it will rain in Tucson, 70 miles to the NW.  Or the other way around.  So I spent a few hours packing and organizing my recycables and realized that I had been remiss in keeping everything organized and clean in the kitchen area. This would only be my third time in Tucson this year, when normally I prefer to go every 4-6 weeks.

Clouds were looking rather dark as I left the house at 3:20pm.  I dropped off my mail-in ballot at the station and drove off.  I gave myself extra time for the drive because of the forecasted rain.  I-10 is a deadly stretch between  Lordsburg, NM and  Phoenix.  I hate driving to Tucson when it rains.

Luckily, the interstate traffic was flowing well.  I didn't hit a slo-go until I reached the Kolb-Irvington intersection in Tucson, where a two-car collision slowed traffic down.  That extra hour I took to drive into town saved me, as I got to the designated parking  area at 6pm.

 

The even was to promote the new Sister's Restaurant.  It was already open and customers were dining.  It's next door to the old Benedictine monastery; thus the name.  I sat near other older people and actually enjoyed chatting with Dolly, who had just returned from Israel, and Trevor, who is al aready a Yelp friend.  Trevor and Dolly hit it off since their spouses know each other.

The food was very good.  It's a place I would return to as I like the outdoor patio.  The frozen Pina Colada was also very good.  It serves a variety of specialty pizzas.

At 8pm the event was officially over.  I had been keeping check on the sky and was worried about more rain coming.  There were more dark clouds moving in from the south.

My last stop was a beer bar on Broadway, the Broadway beer and wine bar next to Rocco's new location.  I had hear good things about it.  It was just past 9pm and I had an hour to enjoy the place before closing.

I sat outside and sipped an orange Hefeweizen from Moorland park, CA.  It was good.  I didn't have enough time to enjoy a second different beer so I left at 9:50pm, walked  around the parking area to get a feel for the place before starting my drive home.   There are so many good eateries in Tucson to still explore.

The rain that came stayed to the East.  I had no trouble getting home except for fatigue.  I stopped in Benson to rest and finally made it home at 1:30am to six very happy dogs.

Gretel goes to the vet

I finally took the courage to take Gretel to the ABC pet vaccine clinic in Tucson.  I had been postponing this all week because of the threat of rain.  Driving in Tucson during a rain storm is not a pleasant experience as the roads are badly maintained and the  drivers are impatient and rude. The I-10 interstate across Arizona is also one of the deadliest in the western part of the country.

This was my  first trip to Tucson since the war with Iran started.  I missed the city.

I wanted to get there by noon.  Instead, Zana pushed her way out the front door with Gretel so I decided to change plans and run the girls down to the Lehner kill site  for two miles.  That delayed my departure by 80 minutes. I figured Gretel would appreciate the run before sitting in a car for two hours.  She's a great passenger as she doesn't whine or move around much.  She just finds a comfy spot and naps.

I used today's trip to pack up some recycables, but only took enough that wouldn't impede on Gretel's comfort.  I was on the road shortly after 11am. The clinic closes at 5pm so I still had time.

The day progressed near perfectly.  The overcast sky kept the temperature cool in my Honda and there was no stifling triple digit heat in Tucson.  The bridge construction slow-go east of Tucson was minimal.  The recycling bins by Ward 2 were recently emptied.  And when I got to the ABC vaccine clinic, I was told it would be an hour wait, but I ended up getting called in within 30 minutes! 

Gretel got her rabies, Lepto #1, DHPP, and Bordetella.  I also had her microchipped.  She was a good patient but I kept her muzzled because she gets nervous when strangers touch her.  She weighed in at 64 pounds.

I left the clinic by 2:45pm; a good time to get a late lunch  somewhere before the busy Friday night dinner scene.

I chose a dog-friendly restaurant on the NE side of town: Poco and Mom's.  It's a highly-rated NewMexican restaurant with a covered patio.  But by now it was just past 4pm and a flash flood warning screeched on my phone and dining al fresco was unlikely.

The host seated me inside where two other tables were eating.  My meal was good, Gretel rested, and I left feeling stuffed.

The restaurant was close to the Morris K Udall park so Gretel and I walked the perimeter.  The sky was dark and it did drizzle at first, but the rain bypassed us and stayed in the mountains.  We walked 2.2 miles around the perimeter to a cool 78F.

The park has all kinds of sports fields for young and old, but the lower one-third of the park is just dirt paths for BMX.  Here's also where I came across several homeless encampments.  Other than that, the park offers a lot of great options.

My last errand was a stop at the nearby Coffee Xchange for a large green mint and peach iced tea.  I wanted to wait out any rush hour traffic.  The sky was still looking dark, but once I got on the road by 6pm, I left the rain clouds behind.

We got back home just minutes before dusk ended and were welcomed by five happy dogs. They were all curious to smell Gretel's butt. They left my butt alone.

Sierra Vista was dry today, but heavy rains are back for the weekend.

Fritz, Gretel, Zana down to the river

Heavy rains were forecasted for the afternoon into overnight, so I took the half pack to my favorite trailhead shortly after sunrise.

Skies were dark overcast and storm clouds to the north and south of me provided not just a cooling trend, but pretty colors as well. The recent rains have greened up the flora, which contrasted nicely with the dark sky.

The dogs were loving the cooler weather and frolicked along the way.

The river bank was a little dryer than my last trip earlier this week but river was just as muddy and free flowing.  The paw prints from earlier had all disappeared into the damp mud.

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I made the two mile mark my turn around as I didn't want to linger  While there was no immediate threat of rain, I had errands to take care of and needed to get into town before the deluge.

I lost track of time and finally made it into town to drop off Wolfie's urine sample from last week and to get groceries.  Clouds to the south were ominous-looking, and it even began to rain in big drops as I goti on Ramsey road,   This prompted me to drive a little faster to the vet's office and then Fry's foods.  It never rained while I was in town.

Then the forecast said rain after 3pm. Then 4pm. By 5pm it was changed once again to late evening and overnight.

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It drizzled a bit after sunset, but we didn't get the deluge I was looking forward to.  That was a big disappointment as I've been holding off driving to Tucson to get Gretel's vaccines updated.  Her rabies expired on the 12th.

One good thing to report;  the second of two chicks hatched this afternoon.  The first one hatched yesterday.  This is the third clutch for the dove and both chicks are very small.  Their size seems to be determined by how many eggs the mother bird has lain in the season.  Both eggs took two extra days to hatch

Hunter Canyon with Hansel

Palominas Trailhead

After three days of decent rain, I opted today to check out the Palominas trail head, the same area I wanted to check out last week but changed plans when CCSO was in the area.  I wanted to see the water flow.

I took Fritz, Gretel, and Zana.  Fritz and Zana together like to explore, leaving Gretel behind who prefers to stay close to me.

All three were excited to get out of the Honda.  Getting to this trailhead is almost three times longer than the Ramsey trailhead, so all three were anxious to start running. 

This trailhead was once popular with equestrians as the wash is used to get to the San Pedro river.  It's mostly exposed until one reaches the shady canopy of the cottonwoods.

Recent rains etched into the banks, leaving behind water marks, fallen trees, and dead debris.  The closer I got to the river, the wetter the wash  until it became impassable and I had to walk up on the ridge.  I didn't want any of the excited dogs to knock me into the runny mud.  My clean pants were already mud-caked anyway, and my Keens coated with mud.

A week ago this was a dry wash.  Today the muddy river was flowing swiftly high above its bank.  I made the Palominas bridge my turn-around.  There was no dry trail now.  Tall grass cover the ground here and the soil was very saturated/ I wanted to get back to firm ground and away from the slick mud.

To extend the walk, I stayed in the wash and walked east-southeast, past the sandn cliffs that continue to erode with each storm, and made South Paloma trail my turn-around.  This dirt road travels south just shy of the border. There is a three-foot drop from the road into the wash here; not a safe place during a flash flood. I will explore the southern part of the road another time.

I took the maintenance road back to the parking lot, passing two red crosses noting were two border crossers died. 

We were moving for just over an hour.  It was already 80F when we got back to the Honda at 8:30am.

I will come back here once the soil dries.

Wolfie goes to the vet

I made this appointment the Tuesday after Memorial Day.  By then Wolfie's limp had already been going on for at least three weeks.  Yesterday I cut his usual three-mile walk down to two because he was limping badly and I had to constantly stop to let him catch up with me.  

The appointment was for 9am.  Getting a specific dog isolated is always a chore, so I began at 8am.  On the end it wasn't too challenging this morning with raw chicken to distract the other dogs.  I put a  muzzle on him when we got to the vet office as Wolfie is  reactive to other dogs.

I didn't have to wait long to be called in. I was called in to wait in the exam room so that Wolfie wouldn't stress out over the other dog in the waiting room.  I appreciated that gesture.  My DVM was Dr Sasso.  It's the first time we met.

As for the exam, I had a full blood panel and X-rays done of his rear right leg.  Because of his reactivity, he was sedated and I was to pick him up in a few hours.  That was fine with me as I used that time to get my hair cut and vacuum out my Honda.  Two hours later, finishing up my Honda, I was told to come pick Wolfie up at 11:30am.

In short, Wolfie has a partial tear of his knee tendon and arthritis forming on it.  Two weeks kennel rest and twice daily carprofen and gabapentin.  And I was sternly told to work on weight loss as he's 105 pounds (which is two pounds less than 18 months ago.)  The goal is to get him down to 90 pounds.